Showing papers by "Motorola published in 2003"

Overview of the H.264/AVC video coding standard

Abstract: H.264/AVC is newest video coding standard of the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group. The main goals of the H.264/AVC standardization effort have been enhanced compression performance and provision of a "network-friendly" video representation addressing "conversational" (video telephony) and "nonconversational" (storage, broadcast, or streaming) applications. H.264/AVC has achieved a significant improvement in rate-distortion efficiency relative to existing standards. This article provides an overview of the technical features of H.264/AVC, describes profiles and applications for the standard, and outlines the history of the standardization process.

Relative location estimation in wireless sensor networks

Abstract: Self-configuration in wireless sensor networks is a general class of estimation problems that we study via the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB). Specifically, we consider sensor location estimation when sensors measure received signal strength (RSS) or time-of-arrival (TOA) between themselves and neighboring sensors. A small fraction of sensors in the network have a known location, whereas the remaining locations must be estimated. We derive CRBs and maximum-likelihood estimators (MLEs) under Gaussian and log-normal models for the TOA and RSS measurements, respectively. An extensive TOA and RSS measurement campaign in an indoor office area illustrates MLE performance. Finally, relative location estimation algorithms are implemented in a wireless sensor network testbed and deployed in indoor and outdoor environments. The measurements and testbed experiments demonstrate 1-m RMS location errors using TOA, and 1- to 2-m RMS location errors using RSS.

Overview of the H.264/AVC video coding standard

Abstract: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC is the latest coding standard jointly developed by the Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) of ITU-T and Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) of ISO/IEC. It uses state of the art coding tools and provides enhanced coding efficiency for a wide range of applications including video telephony, video conferencing, TV, storage (DVD and/or hard disk based), streaming video, digital video creation, digital cinema and others. In this paper an overview of this standard is provided. Some comparisons with the existing standards, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 2, are also provided.

Feature extraction by non parametric mutual information maximization

Abstract: We present a method for learning discriminative feature transforms using as criterion the mutual information between class labels and transformed features. Instead of a commonly used mutual information measure based on Kullback-Leibler divergence, we use a quadratic divergence measure, which allows us to make an efficient non-parametric implementation and requires no prior assumptions about class densities. In addition to linear transforms, we also discuss nonlinear transforms that are implemented as radial basis function networks. Extensions to reduce the computational complexity are also presented, and a comparison to greedy feature selection is made.

Magnetoresistive random access memory using magnetic tunnel junctions

Abstract: Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) technology combines a spintronic device with standard silicon-based microelectronics to obtain a combination of attributes not found in any other memory technology. Key attributes of MRAM technology are nonvolatility and unlimited read and write endurance. Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices have several advantages over other magnetoresistive devices for use in MRAM cells, such as a large signal for the read operation and a resistance that can be tailored to the circuit. Due to these attributes, MTJ MRAM can operate at high speed and is expected to have competitive densities when commercialized. In this paper, we review our recent progress in the development of MTJ-MRAM technology. We describe how the memory operates, including significant aspects of reading, writing, and integration of the magnetic material with CMOS, which enabled our recent demonstration of a 1-Mbit memory chip. Important memory attributes are compared between MRAM and other memory technologies.

Atomic Resolution Imaging of a Carbon Nanotube from Diffraction Intensities

Abstract: Atomic imaging of three-dimensional structures has required a crystal in diffraction or a lens in electron imaging. Whereas diffraction achieves very high resolution by averaging over many cells, imaging gives localized structural information, such as the position of a single dopant atom. However, lens aberrations limit electron imaging resolution to about 1 angstrom. Resolution is reduced further by low contrast from weakscattering or from the limitations on electron dose for radiation-sensitive molecules. We show that both high resolution and high contrast can be achieved by imaging from diffraction with a nanometer-sized coherent electron beam. The phase problem is solved by oversampling and iterative phase retrieval. We apply this technique to image a double-wall carbon nanotube at 1-angstrom resolution, revealing the structure of two tubes of different helicities. Because the only requirement for imaging is a diffraction pattern sampled below the Nyquist frequency, our technique has the potential to image nonperiodic nanostructures, including biological macromolecules, at diffraction intensity-limited resolutions.

Statistical Timing Analysis for Intra-Die Process Variations with Spatial Correlations

Abstract: Process variations have become a critical issue in performance verification of high-performance designs. We present a new, statistical timing analysis method that accounts for inter- and intra-die process variations and their spatial correlations. Since statistical timing analysis has an exponential run time complexity, we propose a method whereby a statistical bound on the probability distribution function of the exact circuit delay is computed with linear run time. First, we develop a model for representing inter- and intra-die variations and their spatial correlations. Using this model, we then show how gate delays and arrival times can be represented as a sum of components, such that the correlation information between arrival times and gate delays is preserved. We then show how arrival times are propagated and merged in the circuit to obtain an arrival time distribution that is an upper bound on the distribution of the exact circuit delay. We prove the correctness of the bound and also show how the bound can be improved by propagating multiple arrival times. The proposed algorithms were implemented and tested on a set of benchmark circuits under several process variation scenarios. The results were compared with Monte Carlo simulation and show an accuracy of 3.32% on average over all test cases.

Automated processing of the single-lead electrocardiogram for the detection of obstructive sleep apnoea

Abstract: A method for the automatic processing of the electrocardiogram (ECG) for the detection of obstructive apnoea is presented. The method screens nighttime single-lead ECG recordings for the presence of major sleep apnoea and provides a minute-by-minute analysis of disordered breathing. A large independently validated database of 70 ECG recordings acquired from normal subjects and subjects with obstructive and mixed sleep apnoea, each of approximately eight hours in duration, was used throughout the study. Thirty-five of these recordings were used for training and 35 retained for independent testing. A wide variety of features based on heartbeat intervals and an ECG-derived respiratory signal were considered. Classifiers based on linear and quadratic discriminants were compared. Feature selection and regularization of classifier parameters were used to optimize classifier performance. Results show that the normal recordings could be separated from the apnoea recordings with a 100% success rate and a minute-by-minute classification accuracy of over 90% is achievable.

A TOA-based location algorithm reducing the errors due to non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation

Abstract: An effective location algorithm, which considers non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation, is presented. By using a new variable to replace the square term, the problem becomes a mathematical programming problem, and then the NLOS propagation's effect can be evaluated. Compared with other methods, the proposed algorithm has high accuracy.

Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract: Time-resolved carrier dynamics in single-wall carbon nanotubes is investigated by means of two-color pump-probe experiments. The recombination dynamics is monitored by probing the transient photobleaching observed on the interband transitions of the semiconducting tubes. This dynamics takes place on a 1 ps time scale which is 1 order of magnitude slower than in graphite. Transient photoinduced absorption is observed for nonresonant probing and is interpreted as a global redshift of the pi-plasmon resonance. We show that the opening of the band gap in semiconducting carbon nanotubes determines the nonlinear response dynamics over the whole visible and near-infrared spectrum.

Degradation and failure of carbon nanotube field emitters

Abstract: The failure of individual multiwall carbon nanotubes during field emission and two-probe characterization was studied in a scanning electron microscope on emitters grown by chemical vapor deposition. The failures induced by high currents during two-probe measurements led to a sundering of the tube in or near its middle, which is consistent with a local evaporation due to resistive heating. Conversely, failures during field emission occurred at or near the substrate-emitter contact. We show that the degradation is due to mechanical failure of the contact at low applied fields, and to resistive heating (probably enhanced by the mechanical stress) at high emitted currents.

Understanding MOSFET mismatch for analog design

Abstract: Despite the significance of matched devices in analog circuit design, mismatch modeling for design application has been lacking. This paper addresses misconceptions about MOSFET mismatch for analog design. V/sub t/ mismatch does not follow a simplistic 1/(/spl radic/area) law, especially for wide/short and narrow/long devices, which are common geometries in analog circuits. Further, V/sub t/ and gain factor are not appropriate parameters for modeling mismatch. A physically based mismatch model can be used to obtain dramatic improvements in prediction of mismatch. This model is applied to MOSFET current mirrors to show some nonobvious effects over bias, geometry, and multiple-unit devices.

Multimedia content processing through cross-modal association

Abstract: Multimodal information processing has received considerable attention in recent years The focus of existing research in this area has been predominantly on the use of fusion technology In this paper, we suggest that cross-modal association can provide a new set of powerful solutions in this area We investigate different cross-modal association methods using the linear correlation model We also introduce a novel method for cross-modal association called Cross-modal Factor Analysis (CFA) Our earlier work on Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is extended for applications that use off-line supervised training As a promising research direction and practical application of cross-modal association, cross-modal information retrieval where queries from one modality are used to search for content in another modality using low-level features is then discussed in detail Different association methods are tested and compared using the proposed cross-modal retrieval system All these methods achieve significant dimensionality reduction Among them CFA gives the best retrieval performance Finally, this paper addresses the use of cross-modal association to detect talking heads The CFA method achieves 911% detection accuracy, while LSI and Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) achieve 661% and 739% accuracy, respectively As shown by experiments, cross-modal association provides many useful benefits, such as robust noise resistance and effective feature selection Compared to CCA and LSI, the proposed CFA shows several advantages in analysis performance and feature usage Its capability in feature selection and noise resistance also makes CFA a promising tool for many multimedia analysis applications

A novel power plane with integrated simultaneous switching noise mitigation capability using high impedance surface

Abstract: A novel technique for suppressing power plane resonance at microwave and radio frequencies is presented. The new concept consists of replacing one of the plates of a parallel power plane pair with a high impedance surface or electromagnetic band gap structure. The combination of this technique with a wall of RC pairs extends the lower edge of the effective bandwidth to dc, and allows resonant mode suppression up to the upper edge of the band-gap. The frequency range for noise mitigation is controlled by the geometry of the HIGP structure.

Application-independent text entry for touch-sensitive display

Abstract: A user interface method and apparatus for an electronic device operates by detecting ( 108 ) a stroke of a touch sensitive display ( 170 ) forming a part of the electronic device. The stroke is categorized ( 116 ) as one of a swish type stroke and a non-swish type stroke. If the stroke is a non-swish stroke, it is translated ( 132 ) into an application function. If the stroke is a swish stroke, it is converted ( 128 ) to a character input function. The touch sensitive display ( 170 ) has a grid ( 50 ) containing cells ( 51, 53 , etc.), with each cell containing a plurality of characters, and the grid can overlay application interface to thereby occupying a common area, up to and including the entire area, of the touch sensitive display ( 170 ).

Hybridization enhancement using cavitation microstreaming.

Abstract: Conventional DNA microarray hybridization relies on diffusion of target to surface-bound probes, and thus is a rate-limited process. In this paper, a micromixing technique based on cavitation microstreaming principle that was developed to accelerate hybridization process is explained. Fluidic experiments showed that air bubbles resting on a solid surface and set into vibration by a sound field generated steady circulatory flows, resulting in global convection flows and, thus, rapid mixing. The time to fully mix dyed solutions in a 50-μL chamber using cavitation microstreaming was significantly reduced from hours (a pure diffusion-based mixing) to 6 s. Cavitation microstreaming was implemented to enhance DNA hybridization in both fluorescence-detection-based and electrochemical-detection-based DNA microarray chips. The former showed that cavitation microstreaming results in up to 5-fold hybridization signal enhancement with significantly improved signal uniformity, as compared to the results obtained in co...

Method and system for use in emergency notification and determining location

Abstract: The present embodiments provide methods, systems and apparatuses for use in providing notification of emergency services as well as notifying additional individuals and/or groups of an emergency. Some embodiments provide methods for use in dispatching emergency services (136) and notifying one or more additional contacts (140). These methods wirelessly receive a request for emergency services (212) from a remote wireless device (122), retrieve an emergency contact list according to the type of emergency (216) and determine at least one emergency contact other than emergency services according to the contact list (436). Once identified, the contact is notified of the request for emergency services (442). Some embodiments further determine a mode of communicating with the emergency contact (440) and notify the contact according to the mode of communication. Some methods additionally determine one or more types of emergency services to be dispatched (432) and notify types of emergency services (434).

Method and apparatus for classifying vehicle operator activity state

Abstract: An apparatus and method for classifying a driver's activity state use sensor data relating to at least one vehicle operating condition to determine driver activity and classify into one of at least two states. A two state classifier (200) uses inputs related to vehicle monitors (210), driving conditions (212), driver activity (214), vehicle controls (216), and driver identification (218) to set an output (204) to a status corresponding to 'maneuver' and 'non-maneuver.'

Method and apparatus for using switched multibeam antennas in a multiple access communication system

Abstract: In order to increase a capacity, or a number of mobile stations (MSs), or users, that may engage in concurrent communication sessions, a communication system (100) is provided that schedules a different MS, or user, (110-112) in each beam of multiple predetermined, fixed beams (160-165) associated with a coverage area, for example, a sector By simultaneously scheduling a user in each beam of the multiple beams, a performance and throughput of communication system is significantly increased over the prior art In one embodiment of the present invention, a portion of a shared communication channel that is allocated to each MS is concurrently transmitted to each MS via a beam associated with the MS In other embodiments of the present invention, voice channels, data channels, and control channels associated with each MS scheduled in a beam may be concurrently transmitted to each MS via the beam associated with the MS

Portable communication device and corresponding method of operation

Abstract: A portable communication device (100) includes at least one sensing circuit (101) and a processor (104), and operates in accordance with a corresponding method of operation. The sensing circuit detects (205) either a characteristic of an external environment containing the portable communication device (e.g., a chemical in the air or acceleration of the device) or a characteristic of the portable communication device user (e.g., heart rate or blood sugar content), and generates a signal (207) representative of a feature of the sensed characteristic. The processor receives the signal and initiates an event based at least on the feature of the sensed characteristic as represented by the signal. Events include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: alerting the device user, transmitting a signal (e.g., an emergency call) to a remote communication device, re-sensing the characteristic or sensing another characteristic, and modifying a setting or profile of the device.

DVD conversion for on demand

Abstract: A method for pruning and grooming DVD content into a format compatible to be viewed over a network is disclosed. The method provides for automated DVD conversion. The method provides for removing and editing DVD content that is not desirable to be delivered over the network and adding and editing additional content that is desirable to be delivered over the network. The method provides for navigational enhancement that provide: tie-ins to on demand portals; key-mapping; button highlighting; intra-menu navigation; inter-menu navigation and DVD disc merge capability.

System and method for providing provisioning and upgrade services for a wireless device

Abstract: In one embodiment, a system is disclosed. The system includes a wireless data processing device, a messaging service to maintain data objects on behalf of a user, and a data center, coupled to the wireless device and the messaging service. The data center establishes a plurality of routing connections between the wireless device and the messaging service. Each of the plurality of connections corresponds to a data service level authorized by the data center.

Software development method tailoring at Motorola

Abstract: Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to be added but when there is nothing left to take away.---Antoine de Saint-Exupery

A 1-Mbit MRAM based on 1T1MTJ bit cell integrated with copper interconnects

Abstract: A low-power 1-Mb magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) based on a one-transistor and one-magnetic tunnel junction (1T1MTJ) bit cell is demonstrated. This is the largest MRAM memory demonstration to date. In this circuit, the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) elements are integrated with CMOS using copper interconnect technology. The copper interconnects are cladded with a high-permeability layer which is used to focus magnetic flux generated by current flowing through the lines toward the MTJ devices and reduce the power needed for programming. The 25-mm/sup 2/ 1-Mb MRAM circuit operates with address access times of less than 50 ns, consuming 24 mW at 3.0 V and 20 MHz. The 1-Mb MRAM circuit is fabricated in a 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS process utilizing five layers of metal and two layers of poly.

Apparel having multiple alternative sensors and corresponding method

Abstract: One or more items of apparel have a plurality of sensors (10, 11, and 12) disposed therein (either permanently or temporarily). These sensors sense physical states of the individual wearing the items of apparel and/or of the local environment. In one embodiment, multiple sensors sense, in alternative ways, a parameter that corresponds to a physical state of interest. Information from these alternative sensing approaches is co-processed to yield a resultant parameter value that can be used in various ways. In one embodiment, the parameter value is locally or remotely displayed. In one embodiment, the parameter value is used in comparison against risk thresholds to ascertain a degree of risk to the individual.

Method and apparatus for effecting a seamless handoff between ip connections

Abstract: A method (900) of and apparatus for effecting a handoff from a first Internet Protocol (IP) connection (221) to a second IP connection (331) is disclosed. The method includes: communicating a packet data communication between a first station and a gateway using the first IP connection and a first IP address for the first station, the gateway relaying the packet data communication with a second station; setting up the second IP connection with a second IP address for the first station, the first IP connection being a primary connection and the second IP connection being a secondary connection between the first station and the gateway, determining that the second IP connection should be the primary connection between the first station and the gateway; and changing the second IP connection to the primary connection by informing the gateway that the second IP address is the primary address using stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) messages.

Method and apparatus for providing a distributed architecture digital wireless communication system

Abstract: A mobile station (402) selects (1802) a preferred cell site for transmitting a frame of data to be sent subsequently to the mobile station. A base station (602) of the preferred cell site schedules (1804) a transmission of the frame of data, wherein parameters for the transmission are determined by the base station from recently-measured channel and interference information. Thereafter, the base station sends (1806) the frame of data from the preferred cell site; and an active set of base stations associated with the mobile station at ones of a plurality of cell sites synchronize (1808) their data queues to reflect the transmission of the frame of data.

Method and apparatus for selective distributed speech recognition

Abstract: An apparatus and method for selective distributed speech recognition includes a dialog manager (104) that is capable of receiving a grammar type indicator (170). The dialog manager (104) is capable of being coupled to an external speech recognition engine (108), which may be disposed on a communication network (142). The apparatus and method further includes an audio receiver (102) coupled to the dialog manager (104) wherein the audio receiver (104) receives a speech input (110) and provides an encoded audio input (112) to the dialog manager (104). The method and apparatus also includes an embedded speech recognition engine (106) coupled to the dialog manager (104), such that the dialog manager (104) selects to distribute the encoded audio input (112) to either the embedded speech recognition engine (106) or the external speech recognition engine (108) based on the corresponding grammar type indicator (170).